Long-COVID rate among disabled people double that of able-bodied

COVID-19
Nursing home resident in wheelchair

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Over 40% of COVID-19 survivors who had disabilities before the pandemic had symptoms for 3 months or longer in 2022, compared with 19% of those without disabilities, further widening health disparities, finds a new report published in the American Journal of Public Health.

University of Kansas (KU) researchers compared rates of long COVID among 2,262 KU National Survey on Health and Disability respondents disabled before 2020—of whom 581 reported testing positive for COVID-19—with those among 2,725 nondisabled participants in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Household Pulse Survey (HPS).

Chronic illness most tied to long COVID

The estimated prevalence of long COVID was higher among COVID-positive participants with disabilities (40.6%) than among previously infected, non-disabled participants (18.9%) and HPS respondents who reported ever having long-COVID symptoms (31.5%). The prevalence in summer 2022 was 10.4% of participants with disabilities, compared with 7.5% of non-disabled respondents.

We knew from previous research during the pandemic that people with pre-existing disabilities were having more difficulties getting the vaccines and were more likely to be exposed.

Jean Hall, PhD

The type of disability most associated with long COVID was chronic illness (60% of COVID-19 survivors), followed by those with mental illness (45%). Participants with sensory disabilities (eg, blindness, deafness) had the lowest rate of long COVID.

"We knew from previous research during the pandemic that people with pre-existing disabilities were having more difficulties getting the vaccines and were more likely to be exposed," lead author Jean Hall, PhD, said in a KU press release. "They not only have higher rates of long COVID, but they also have greater barriers to care, whether it's transportation, costs or other challenges."

People with disabilities are also more likely to have severe COVID-19 symptoms, face treatment refusals, and be admitted to a hospital, the researchers said.

'The pandemic is not over'

The authors called for public health policymakers to pay closer attention to rates of long COVID among people with disabilities and create equitable policies and responses. The team also urged the public, healthcare systems, and policy makers to recognize that the pandemic is not over and continues to pose greater risks to this high-risk population.

"We read comments from survey participants with pre-existing disabilities who are afraid to go out in their communities because the people they need to interact with, including health providers, aren't masking, and the public in general acts like the pandemic is over," senior author Kelsey Goddard, PhD, said in the release. "Re-contracting COVID can exacerbate their long COVID symptoms."

Coauthor Lisa McCorkell, MPP, noted that few healthcare providers are still taking COVID-19 precautions. "The pandemic is not over, and COVID is still spreading," she said. "Policy should be adjusted so that if we're truly aiming for an equitable response, we implement masking in public places and health care facilities to protect people with disabilities."

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